


Sunflower

by Duskmoon



Category: Subnautica (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Ryley dies, Sea Dragon Leviathan, Sea Emporer Leviathan, Spoilers, im very sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:42:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duskmoon/pseuds/Duskmoon
Summary: Ryley was so close. He could feel it— feel Her, but there was this damn leviathan in his way. He hoped to get across without much trouble, but things don’t go as planned.





	Sunflower

**Author's Note:**

> YA’LL IM SO SORRY, my first work for this fandom and it’s d e a t h, I promise I’ll do an actual thing for Subnautica soon, I just had the sudden urge to write angst so, here. This was a learning experience; haven’t written too much blood and injury before, and never have I written death, because I get overly attached to fictional characters.
> 
> Hope ya’ll don’t cry as hard as I did writing this ✨✨

Ryley was so close.

He could feel it— feel Her, but there was this damn leviathan in the way. He sat at the edge of the bright lakes, mapping out a path while he listened to the beast’s not-so far away roar. He decided to hop across the islands as fast as he could using the grappling arm, and launch himself into the Primary Containment Facility. He had the hatching enzymes with him; he would help Her hatch Her children, and get cured! 

He took a deep breath and took off. The PRAWN felt slower than ever as the leviathan whipped around to glare at him, roaring once again. It shot balls of fire at him, which he managed to dodge for the most part. One grazed the side and caused some minor damage. Ryley pushed on, eyes trained forwards. He was so close, it was right there, if he could just—

The Sea Dragon swam close and swatted at his suit, batting him to the side like a leaf in the wind. The PRAWN slammed into the rock wall, causing an immense amount of damage. He couldn’t help but yank at the controls, praying that it could hold out until he could get past the gate. Once he saw the leviathan swimming towards him, he got out as quickly as he could. As soon as he did, the beast crushed what remained of his suit between its powerful jaws. He started to sigh in relief, until he realized how exposed he was.

Ryley whipped out his seaglide, cursing himself for not replacing the extremely low battery. He kicked his legs, desperately trying anything and everything to get away. Yet, to no avail. 

A lava lizard sunk its horrid teeth into his leg, causing him to scream out in pain. Tha Kharaa’s blisters were already painful enough— he did not need a set of sharp fangs embedded in his calf. He pulled out his thermoknife and stabbed blindly, pain and adrenaline coursing through him, making him even more confused. The creature let go, but his blood drifted through the water and straight to the leviathan.

Searing, white hot pain blazed throughout his lower half. A fireball had struck him, sending him tumbling into the ceiling. Stars exploded in his vision as his head collided with the solid rock, edges of his vision graying. He could see the crimson of his own blood curling upwards beside him, almost blending in with the rest of the water around him. His legs felt like they were on fire, exposed to the scorching hot water.

The Sea Dragon roared, leaving a ringing echo in Ryley’s ears. Everything seemed too quiet— he could no longer hear the rushing of water, or the crumbling of stalactites as the angry leviathan smashed its powerful front leg into them. He drifted slightly, giving up on trying to swim to safety. He was screwed. His whole body went limp as he gave into the exhaustion. 

The pain felt distant— far away, like he was not fully there. He felt like a third-person viewer as the leviathan mauled his limp form, blood clouding up the water. The pain was no longer unbearable, in fact, he felt nothing at all. Suddenly, he felt more tired than he ever had. His eyes drifted shut, but for some reason, he decided to pry them open one last time.

The blood curling around him was almost beautiful. He had long since run out of oxygen in his tank, now relying on how long he could hold his breath. He blankly ran a hand through the water, watching as the redness pouring from him twisted like smoke in the air. A soft growl echoed somewhere far away— but it wasn’t far, he could feel the rumbling in the ceiling, see the crumbling rocks. He could hardly hear it over the static in his ears, the white noise strangely calming. With the last of his strength, Ryley turned and watched with a weary expression as huge jaws surged towards him.

And then, there was nothing.

Deep in the Primary Containment Facility, a mother howled in agony as a boy who’d she’d considered her own child passed, just short of her domain.

**Author's Note:**

> iM soRrY I SWeaR
> 
> Anyways, I’d like an opinion on a fic I’m considering writing! In one of the Kharaa logs, it says something about huge changes to the genetic structure. Now, what if instead of killing Ryley, it gave him the features of a stalker over the course of a few months? Fins, tail, claws, teeth, gills, etc. I’m calling it the Stalker AU for now because I’m unoriginal. Would anyone like to see that written? :0
> 
> Btw, the title came from Sunflower by Post Malone! I wrote it listening to that, so I used it for the title because like I said before, I’m unoriginal. :p
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful day! <3✨✨


End file.
